Site Mobile Navigation

INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS; Glaxo Wellcome Sales Fell 7% in 4 Months

Glaxo Wellcome P.L.C. said sales in the first four months of 1998 fell 7 percent as the British drug maker suffered from the patent loss for its biggest selling drug, the anti-ulcerant Zantac, and from the stronger pound. Glaxo said sales in the four-month period fell 7 percent, to $:2.56 billion ($4.15 billion). The decline would have been only 1 percent if measured at constant exchange rates. Excluding Zantac and currency effects, Glaxo said sales growth was 11 percent.

Glaxo lost United States patent protection for Zantac in July 1997, and sales have fallen sharply for what was the world's biggest-selling drug in 1996. Sales dropped 22 percent, to $:1.37 billion in 1997, as a result of generic competition.

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this article appears in print on May 19, 1998, on Page D00003 of the National edition with the headline: INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS; Glaxo Wellcome Sales Fell 7% in 4 Months. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe